Upstairs & Upscale

The Laundry Room Ascends From The Depths Of The Basement To Stake Its Claim As A Status Symbol

November 13, 1999|By Genevieve Buck, Tribune staff writer.

That it should come to this: The laundry room is now a status symbol.

Washers and dryers that once did their dirty work in dark basements -- never, ever to be seen by guests -- are now enjoying the surroundings and beauty treatments previously bestowed on grander rooms, such as kitchens.

"It's the latest trend in mini-mansions," says Roger Mankedick, vice president of sales and marketing for Palatine-based Concord Homes. "Being able to put significant square footage into a laundry room is a sign of affluence, and people building their dream homes are looking for such signs."

But laundry facilities in condo units are just as important. "Quintessentially important," emphasizes Leah Harriett of the Habitat Co., sales director for Kinzie Park in Chicago's River West area. Along with other sales personnel for new high-rises, Harriett claims laundry space and appliance hookups are as essential as tubs or showers.

Laundry rooms are the latest signs of the good life, joining look-at-me three-car garages, gourmet kitchens, multiple walk-in closets, gigantic great rooms and sybaritic bathrooms. And, according to real estate agents and builders, since it has become a standard amenity rather than a luxurious upgrade, it's a trend.

First, the appliances moved upstairs -- from the baements of single-family homes or from the public facilities in condo buildings. Once in place, they hid side-by-side behind closed double-doors. Now, many of those beloved lifesavers are coming out of the closet, as it were, and laundry rooms are being treated with a new respect, the kind of reverence Grandma once held for the parlor that was always pristine, befitting a possible surprise visit by members of the Ladies Social Circle or a mother-in-law.

Calling laundry rooms a status thing doesn't necessarily mean that people brag about their fabulous laundry facilities (though some do) or make a point of showing them off with brio as they do with their fabulous kitchens or their fabulous bathrooms (though some do).

It also doesn't mean that these cleanliness centers are only in million-dollar homes. Several models with large laundry rooms that were displayed in last month's Parade of Homes in Sugar Grove were in the $350,000 vicinity. Three of Concord Homes' models in West Chicago with great big laundry rooms are base-priced from around $293,500 to $325,500.

Status does mean, however, that the once homely and lonely appliances, now king and queen of their own domain, are being ensconced in bedroom-sized spaces with handsome cabinets, granite counters, a deep sink or two and maybe even a shower-type stall with hanging space for wet clothing.

It also means that the space set aside for doing laundry has become a significant selling point.

A condo without space and hookups for laundry appliances can kill a potential sale. The same applies to single-family homes that have laundry facilities on the wrong floor or, horror of horrors, homes or units with space for the equipment, but not enough for an ironing board.

It's in this sense that laundry facilities within residences have become status symbols: They are unqualified musts for the majority of today's home buyers.

In a perfect world, dishes, cars, clothes, people and pets would not get dirty. But they do. The point is to get them/us clean as efficiently, easily and enjoyably as possible. Would anyone buy a new living space without a dishwasher? In a pleasant kitchen? Without a tub and shower--or two? Unthinkable.

After living in a four-room (two-bedroom) home with laundry equipment in the basement ("horrible"), Christopher and Mara Cooney certainly didn't have status on their minds as they planned their new home in west suburban Lisle. "We wanted a livable home--it had to have space and be a place where we'd never say, `Don't touch this or that,' " said Mara. "We didn't want to live like that."

The Cooneys mapped out everything they needed and wanted. For reasons that will become obvious, the kitchen with ample dining area topped their priority list, though the laundry room was a close second, followed by Christopher's office and the playroom. After that, in no particular order, came family and dining rooms; first-floor master bath, bedroom and sitting room; five upstairs bedrooms and a basement that will have theater, bath, steam and workout rooms. (A living room--"useless," they said--was never considered.)

Reason enough for both space and top-notch laundering facilities: Christopher and Mara are the parents of Mac, 3, Sam, 2, and 9-month-old Emma. "We hope to have five or six children," said Mara, adding, "the fourth is on the way."

Yet, she said, the laundry is really "their room," referring to yellow Labrador Tucker and playmate Dixon, a Chesapeake Bay retriever. "That's where they live."